'Bad Fans Create Hatred Among Players'

Virat Kohli was hurt at the manner in which the crowd jeered him after the RCB skipper effected a controversial run out of Mumba's Ambati Rayudu.

MUMBAI: Mumbai's cricket audience is at it again. Seven years ago, a section of the crowd booed Sachin Tendulkar after the 'God of Cricket' was dismissed early in a Test defeat to England. In November, a spectator were ejected from the ground after he heckled Harbhajan Singh, who was again abused during an Irani Cup tie earlier this year at the same venue. On Saturday night, it was the turn of Virat Kohli to face the ire of the Wankhede public.

After leading Royal Challengers Bangalore to a 58-run loss against Mumbai Indians, Kohli was hurt at the manner in which the crowd jeered him after the RCB skipper effected a controversial run out of MI's Ambati Rayudu. They booed and jeered him when he came out to bat, and at the presentation ceremony, calling him a "cheat."

The RCB skipper expressed his disbelief at the crowd's "hatred towards opposition " and went on to say that such behaviour "is creating hatred amongst the players," and that they "forgot that he also plays for India."

Ironically, batting great Sunil Gavaskar, in his TOI column, on Saturday, had praised the Mumbai crowd for its "big heart" as it cheered even the opposition players.

Kohli though begged to differ. "I don't know what is wrong with people at this venue . It feels a bit weird because at the end of the day you play for India and you don't come here to be hated. It has happened to a few players in the past as well. I don't know why they get so worked up. This tournament is not the end of the world. They forget that the players they are booing also play for their country," Kohli fumed. "It is only creating hatred among the players. When I come back and play for India, they are going to cheer for me. It doesn't work that way."

The star bat felt the crowd behaviour was much better in RCB's home ground, the Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bangalore. "Whoever wins or loses, in any of the games in Bangalore, every captain is cheered, every Indian player is cheered. People appreciate good cricket," he reckoned.

And what exactly earned Kohli the Wankhede crowd's wrath? He had scored a direct hit from the covers even as Rayudu was left short of his ground after getting into a tangle with bowler Vinay Kumar, which resulted in his bat being in the air after the impact with the bowler. Kohli though vehemently defended his decision to go ahead with the appeal.

"It is very important to have knowledge of cricket. If it was any intentional interruption from the bowler, the umpire would have stopped the batsman from walking back. It is his job, not mine. The bowler and the batsmen didn't see each other, and collided . It was perfectly fine to be honest," Kohli explained.

Kohli felt Rayudu should have been more careful. "You should have that much cricket awareness to see where the bowler is coming back. He (Vinay) had to back up when there was no one behind him," Kohli said.